A Discussion of Dragons
The histories, mythos and facts about dragons
and the events leading up to the Blood Sky
by the Sorcerer Xerxes Karan -- Griffin of Magik
First published in 263
There are many tales about dragons. Indeed, in my travels, I have met few cultures that didn’t offer an opinion on the origins and the decline of dragons. In Akkoria, the Morgan believes that dragons were created by evil wizards in a failed attempt to rule mankind. In Quivera, the popular belief is that dragons were nothing more than lizards that drank from an enchanted brook that turned them into giants. And, there are those that believe dragons to be the chosen form of the Gods and therefore should be worshipped. Of all the outlandish and conversely grounded theories, there is one, undeniable fact about dragons. They have disappeared from the skies of Xaria.
In the ancient writings of many cultures, I have discovered a common theme that lends credence to the idea that dragons are actually born of God magic. Ages ago, long before the death of the Consortium, the Elder Gods occupied Xaria and kept dragons as pets. When the Gods decided to leave Xaria, they charged dragons with guarding the various races that they had created. As the legend goes, not all dragons took this assignment literally. Most acted upon the nature of their respective masters to manipulate wars, settle disputes and maintain a balance in favor of one race or another. An early example of these dragon machinations is the Wars of Annihilation, which was sparked when the Perrizizac Nation of Orcs were convinced, allegedly by a dragon, to steal the Dwarven Mace of Kings from the heart of the Dwarven kingdom. The Orcs now believe that the dragon sought to destroy them so that humankind could get a share of the monster territory. Indeed, the overall effect of the Wars seems to corroborate this theory. The wars did give humans a foothold to civilize lands that were once dominated by the monster hordes. Another prime example is the more overt actions of Veldron, an ancient black dragon who sacrificed himself to form the Order of Veldron. As the Veldron legend states, the black dragon set forth a code of conduct and charged his followers to perform great quests in the service of the Xarian races. It is even rumored that a cabal of dragons empowered humans in the time of the Consortium to protect their civilization with the creation of several powerful golem-like titans, who would dispense justice, arbitrate disputes and, at a specific time, act as apocalyptic judges.
Perhaps dragons became complacent in their duties or perhaps their task was going as planned, but the races thrived on their own various paths often at the peril of dragons. The humans formed kingdoms, fought wars, built countries and generally spread across Xaria, while the elder races, Elves and Dwarves, focused their energy on maintaining their power through magik or craft. The monsters also thrived, in their own way, but were forced to occupy the wilderlands, particularly Uragoth, where Skuag held the most magikal influence. And yet, the dragons continued to suffer. Dwarves have always sought to destroy dragons as an affront to the Crafter, but humans grew in magik and strength to the point that they could hunt dragons for sport. The popular myth of the evil dragon was cited to motivate such hunts. Elves were the only race to maintain apathy towards dragons, who were recognized as part of the balance -- they simply were, so why bother one way or another. Ultimately, dragons were driven into the seclusion of the earth having long been abandoned by the Elder Gods who once adored them.
In this time, the younger Gods began to exercise more influence over their followers. Vorak, God of War, sought to reward his followers through the glory of combat and conquest. Niva commanded hardship from her faithful. Skuag judged his worthy by strength and territory. Sheela desired only peace and the elimination of strife. In the path of these Gods and their plans for mankind, stood dragons. After all, dragons were charged with powerful magik, unbound by the Elder Gods who created them and unappreciated by the races that they still guarded. In essence, many young Gods now viewed dragons as rivals, both in power and purpose.
Vorak, Sheela, Niva and Skuag made a pact. They would banish dragons to another world by creating a powerful spell that would draw from their own magik. The spell would be complex and reliant on several elements. The Gods would each offer their faithful a gift, which would be sacrificed to the spell. The planets would have to be aligned in a specific order. The incantations would have to be read in conjunction with the placement of the artifacts, which would have to be alligned in the proper sequence. And, finally, the Gods decreed that a dragon would be the final component to the spell to assure that once cast, the spell could not be cast again. The spell of the Blood Sky was authored by the union of Gods and passed onto their most faithful to implement. The Blood Sky would serve several distinct purposes. It would open a doorway to another world, a world with a blood red sky where dragons would be compelled to go or lie forever dormant. The spell would also serve as a warning to the righteous of the coming judgment set forth by the mages of the Consortium. Vorak would now communicate to his most faithful through Blood Visions -- He would instruct them to form an order of Acolytes to carry out his bidding. Niva’s followers would withdraw to the winter regions without the dragon’s flame to melt her resolve. Sheila would answer Vorak’s call to war with a Brotherhood of priests who would preach tranquility. Skuag would finally have revenge for the Wars of Annihilation -- he would instruct his hordes to rebuild their territories and honor Him through strength. The Elder Gods would be appeased because their gift to the Xarian races would no longer be hunted for sport. The young Gods would no longer be rivaled by dragons.
The finer points of Dragons
Anatomy and Magik
As creatures, dragons are quite unusual in both anatomy and magikal power. It is clear from my research that dragons were powered by a different, more intense type magik that has not been witnessed since the time of the Consortium. Indeed, I do not believe a dragon could even support its own mass were it not for the magik inherent in its biology, of which little is known. However, in my youth, to my eternal shame, I participated in eradicating a dragon from Chalter Medrium's southern border with Doro’Ydel. The dragon was young, perhaps 100-years-old, but it was still a sizable challenge for the band of adventurers that had assembled against it. At the time, we believed that the dragon was feeding off the local populous, who, as it turned out, were being hunted by rogue monsters from Uragoth. Nonetheless, a magnificent specimen of dragonkind paid the ultimate price for the mistake.
The dragon measured forty feet from tip to tail.
The dragon hide was impervious to most weapons. The scales were supple to the touch, but difficult to penetrate with anything short of an enchanted sword. Despite the toughness of the dragon hide, it was magikally lite -- no heavier than normal cow hide.
The floor of the dragon lair was covered with treasure -- everything from gold coin to elaborate jewelry. It seemed odd to me that a creature of such power and mobility would spend most of its existence on a pile of hoarded treasure, but then I read an account from a Saint Apotho, a disciple of a dragon cult, who claimed that most dragons were physically sickened by extended exposure to unrefined metal and rock. Hence the hoarding of precious metals and pure gemstones. Is it possible that dragons prefer a bed of gold and silver to a the comfort of feathers or fur?
The foundations of Dragon Magik
The bones of a dragon are known to contain powerful, inherent magik. It has been learned by Talon scholars that the Veldron Knights have long used the bones of their patron dragon in the forging process to make enchanted weapons. The effect creates an unusual adherence to multiple enchantments or curses. As such, the Veldron Knights always carry blades that are enchanted with a spell of True Sight and also cursed so that the weilder may not speak falsely. The curse itself holds powerful inherent properties as the weapons always return to the cursed after they become separated.
I took this practice further with the goal to focus on a dragon’s particular sphere of magikal influence. During the battle with the dragon, I became aware of a certain compelling influence that the dragon had over others in my party. I believed that this influence was inherent or born with the dragon and not cast from a spell. As such, I used certain parts of a dragon’s anamoty (I will not say which parts now that I believe the practice to be immoral) to create a powerful magikal item that I will call the Draconicus. In essence, the item worked thusly: Activated by the power words, spoken in the lost language of Draconic to protect its use by the dim or ill-educated, the control wand has the power to force the actions of anyone who might wear the Draconicus. To prevent the wearer of the amulet from simply ripping off the Draconicus, I further enchanted the talisman with a powerful curse so that it could not be removed by anyone other than the possessor of the wand. I quickly discovered that the item was somewhat useless against any advanced mind, but quite effective against monsters, animals, feeble minds and young children. I do not know the effect this magik might have against other dragons, but based on a dragon’s self-imposed solidarity, I believe the Draconicus might be tuned to a dragon’s perception. Why else would dragons so ardently avoid one another?
It also seems clear to me now that dragons become more magikally powerful as they age. I extrapilate this belief from a number of sources found in the Library of the Stars that relate to various Karandian dragons who wrote archaic and difficult to translate tomes intended to benefit those men that would dedicate themselves to the learning of it (another example of a dragon’s calculated machinations to influence the Xarian races without directly interacting on their behalf). I will comment that the Draconic language is mostly lost to the world, although scholars of recent memory, including myself, had mastered the language with the aid of powerful magikal spells. The problem with keeping a working knowledge of Draconic writings is that the symbols, heiroglyphs and pictograms that compose the complex language of dragons are magikally enchanted to change at random intervals. A dragon mind is inherently attuned to the changes, but a human mind must periodically redecipher the language to understand it. Even with magikal spells, the process is often arduous and time consuming. At any rate, Marclyx, a dragon of some age, wrote that a dragon’s body collected magik over the course of its life like a forest becomes dense with trees over decades. Indeed, Marclyx wrote that the lair of an ancient dragon would enhance the very rock and soil around it. Another ancient dragon, Clasyx, wrote that the Karayndus empire was more attune with magik than other parts of Xaria because more ancients lived beneath its earth. Yet another dragon, Milgroos, believed firmly that should a dragon move from its lair, the inherent magik of the land would eventually wither like a plant without water. Milgroos further pontificates on his point by illustrating the waning age of the Consortium. He believes that the Consortium magik was in part powered by the abundance of dragons during the First Age. When human and Dwarven kind began the widespread hunting of dragons, the waning age began and the Consortium magik slowly began detiorating. There is also some vague reference to a collection of Consortium mages attempting to create their own dragon, but the results are something which all the ancient dragon scribes intentionally circumvent in their writings.
All told, the relationship of Dragon Magik to the inherency of magik throughout Xaria is most troubling. If there is truth to the claim, as I believe can be proved with time and energy, then Karandians, indeed all Xarians, should expect a decline in magikal power and influence. There may soon be a day where magik power is limited to but a few and eventually to none at all. What a disastrous event that would be for our society, civilization and evolution, all of which have come to depend on magik to truly thrive. Wtihout magik, civilization would crumble to the crude, sword-wielder or despotic barbarian. If I prove these facts true, it is my intention to propose to the King, Mage Council and fellow Griffins that dragons must be restored to Xaria at all costs. Gods or no, dragons should be magikally compelled to return for no other reason than to assure the very survival of the enlightened mind.
A Discussion of Dragons
The histories, mythos and facts about dragons
and the events leading up to the Blood Sky
by the Sorcerer Xerxes Karan -- Griffin of Magik
First published in 263
There are many tales about dragons. Indeed, in my travels, I have met few cultures that didn’t offer an opinion on the origins and the decline of dragons. In Akkoria, the Morgan believes that dragons were created by evil wizards in a failed attempt to rule mankind. In Quivera, the popular belief is that dragons were nothing more than lizards that drank from an enchanted brook that turned them into giants. And, there are those that believe dragons to be the chosen form of the Gods and therefore should be worshipped. Of all the outlandish and conversely grounded theories, there is one, undeniable fact about dragons. They have disappeared from the skies of Xaria.
In the ancient writings of many cultures, I have discovered a common theme that lends credence to the idea that dragons are actually born of God magic. Ages ago, long before the death of the Consortium, the Elder Gods occupied Xaria and kept dragons as pets. When the Gods decided to leave Xaria, they charged dragons with guarding the various races that they had created. As the legend goes, not all dragons took this assignment literally. Most acted upon the nature of their respective masters to manipulate wars, settle disputes and maintain a balance in favor of one race or another. An early example of these dragon machinations is the Wars of Annihilation, which was sparked when the Perrizizac Nation of Orcs were convinced, allegedly by a dragon, to steal the Dwarven Mace of Kings from the heart of the Dwarven kingdom. The Orcs now believe that the dragon sought to destroy them so that humankind could get a share of the monster territory. Indeed, the overall effect of the Wars seems to corroborate this theory. The wars did give humans a foothold to civilize lands that were once dominated by the monster hordes. Another prime example is the more overt actions of Veldron, an ancient black dragon who sacrificed himself to form the Order of Veldron. As the Veldron legend states, the black dragon set forth a code of conduct and charged his followers to perform great quests in the service of the Xarian races. It is even rumored that a cabal of dragons empowered humans in the time of the Consortium to protect their civilization with the creation of several powerful golem-like titans, who would dispense justice, arbitrate disputes and, at a specific time, act as apocalyptic judges.
Perhaps dragons became complacent in their duties or perhaps their task was going as planned, but the races thrived on their own various paths often at the peril of dragons. The humans formed kingdoms, fought wars, built countries and generally spread across Xaria, while the elder races, Elves and Dwarves, focused their energy on maintaining their power through magik or craft. The monsters also thrived, in their own way, but were forced to occupy the wilderlands, particularly Uragoth, where Skuag held the most magikal influence. And yet, the dragons continued to suffer. Dwarves have always sought to destroy dragons as an affront to the Crafter, but humans grew in magik and strength to the point that they could hunt dragons for sport. The popular myth of the evil dragon was cited to motivate such hunts. Elves were the only race to maintain apathy towards dragons, who were recognized as part of the balance -- they simply were, so why bother one way or another. Ultimately, dragons were driven into the seclusion of the earth having long been abandoned by the Elder Gods who once adored them.
In this time, the younger Gods began to exercise more influence over their followers. Vorak, God of War, sought to reward his followers through the glory of combat and conquest. Niva commanded hardship from her faithful. Skuag judged his worthy by strength and territory. Sheela desired only peace and the elimination of strife. In the path of these Gods and their plans for mankind, stood dragons. After all, dragons were charged with powerful magik, unbound by the Elder Gods who created them and unappreciated by the races that they still guarded. In essence, many young Gods now viewed dragons as rivals, both in power and purpose.
Vorak, Sheela, Niva and Skuag made a pact. They would banish dragons to another world by creating a powerful spell that would draw from their own magik. The spell would be complex and reliant on several elements. The Gods would each offer their faithful a gift, which would be sacrificed to the spell. The planets would have to be aligned in a specific order. The incantations would have to be read in conjunction with the placement of the artifacts, which would have to be alligned in the proper sequence. And, finally, the Gods decreed that a dragon would be the final component to the spell to assure that once cast, the spell could not be cast again. The spell of the Blood Sky was authored by the union of Gods and passed onto their most faithful to implement. The Blood Sky would serve several distinct purposes. It would open a doorway to another world, a world with a blood red sky where dragons would be compelled to go or lie forever dormant. The spell would also serve as a warning to the righteous of the coming judgment set forth by the mages of the Consortium. Vorak would now communicate to his most faithful through Blood Visions -- He would instruct them to form an order of Acolytes to carry out his bidding. Niva’s followers would withdraw to the winter regions without the dragon’s flame to melt her resolve. Sheila would answer Vorak’s call to war with a Brotherhood of priests who would preach tranquility. Skuag would finally have revenge for the Wars of Annihilation -- he would instruct his hordes to rebuild their territories and honor Him through strength. The Elder Gods would be appeased because their gift to the Xarian races would no longer be hunted for sport. The young Gods would no longer be rivaled by dragons.
The finer points of Dragons
Anatomy and Magik
As creatures, dragons are quite unusual in both anatomy and magikal power. It is clear from my research that dragons were powered by a different, more intense type magik that has not been witnessed since the time of the Consortium. Indeed, I do not believe a dragon could even support its own mass were it not for the magik inherent in its biology, of which little is known. However, in my youth, to my eternal shame, I participated in eradicating a dragon from Chalter Medrium's southern border with Doro’Ydel. The dragon was young, perhaps 100-years-old, but it was still a sizable challenge for the band of adventurers that had assembled against it. At the time, we believed that the dragon was feeding off the local populous, who, as it turned out, were being hunted by rogue monsters from Uragoth. Nonetheless, a magnificent specimen of dragonkind paid the ultimate price for the mistake.
The dragon measured forty feet from tip to tail.
The dragon hide was impervious to most weapons. The scales were supple to the touch, but difficult to penetrate with anything short of an enchanted sword. Despite the toughness of the dragon hide, it was magikally lite -- no heavier than normal cow hide.
The floor of the dragon lair was covered with treasure -- everything from gold coin to elaborate jewelry. It seemed odd to me that a creature of such power and mobility would spend most of its existence on a pile of hoarded treasure, but then I read an account from a Saint Apotho, a disciple of a dragon cult, who claimed that most dragons were physically sickened by extended exposure to unrefined metal and rock. Hence the hoarding of precious metals and pure gemstones. Is it possible that dragons prefer a bed of gold and silver to a the comfort of feathers or fur?
The foundations of Dragon Magik
The bones of a dragon are known to contain powerful, inherent magik. It has been learned by Talon scholars that the Veldron Knights have long used the bones of their patron dragon in the forging process to make enchanted weapons. The effect creates an unusual adherence to multiple enchantments or curses. As such, the Veldron Knights always carry blades that are enchanted with a spell of True Sight and also cursed so that the weilder may not speak falsely. The curse itself holds powerful inherent properties as the weapons always return to the cursed after they become separated.
I took this practice further with the goal to focus on a dragon’s particular sphere of magikal influence. During the battle with the dragon, I became aware of a certain compelling influence that the dragon had over others in my party. I believed that this influence was inherent or born with the dragon and not cast from a spell. As such, I used certain parts of a dragon’s anamoty (I will not say which parts now that I believe the practice to be immoral) to create a powerful magikal item that I will call the Draconicus. In essence, the item worked thusly: Activated by the power words, spoken in the lost language of Draconic to protect its use by the dim or ill-educated, the control wand has the power to force the actions of anyone who might wear the Draconicus. To prevent the wearer of the amulet from simply ripping off the Draconicus, I further enchanted the talisman with a powerful curse so that it could not be removed by anyone other than the possessor of the wand. I quickly discovered that the item was somewhat useless against any advanced mind, but quite effective against monsters, animals, feeble minds and young children. I do not know the effect this magik might have against other dragons, but based on a dragon’s self-imposed solidarity, I believe the Draconicus might be tuned to a dragon’s perception. Why else would dragons so ardently avoid one another?
It also seems clear to me now that dragons become more magikally powerful as they age. I extrapilate this belief from a number of sources found in the Library of the Stars that relate to various Karandian dragons who wrote archaic and difficult to translate tomes intended to benefit those men that would dedicate themselves to the learning of it (another example of a dragon’s calculated machinations to influence the Xarian races without directly interacting on their behalf). I will comment that the Draconic language is mostly lost to the world, although scholars of recent memory, including myself, had mastered the language with the aid of powerful magikal spells. The problem with keeping a working knowledge of Draconic writings is that the symbols, heiroglyphs and pictograms that compose the complex language of dragons are magikally enchanted to change at random intervals. A dragon mind is inherently attuned to the changes, but a human mind must periodically redecipher the language to understand it. Even with magikal spells, the process is often arduous and time consuming. At any rate, Marclyx, a dragon of some age, wrote that a dragon’s body collected magik over the course of its life like a forest becomes dense with trees over decades. Indeed, Marclyx wrote that the lair of an ancient dragon would enhance the very rock and soil around it. Another ancient dragon, Clasyx, wrote that the Karayndus empire was more attune with magik than other parts of Xaria because more ancients lived beneath its earth. Yet another dragon, Milgroos, believed firmly that should a dragon move from its lair, the inherent magik of the land would eventually wither like a plant without water. Milgroos further pontificates on his point by illustrating the waning age of the Consortium. He believes that the Consortium magik was in part powered by the abundance of dragons during the First Age. When human and Dwarven kind began the widespread hunting of dragons, the waning age began and the Consortium magik slowly began detiorating. There is also some vague reference to a collection of Consortium mages attempting to create their own dragon, but the results are something which all the ancient dragon scribes intentionally circumvent in their writings.
All told, the relationship of Dragon Magik to the inherency of magik throughout Xaria is most troubling. If there is truth to the claim, as I believe can be proved with time and energy, then Karandians, indeed all Xarians, should expect a decline in magikal power and influence. There may soon be a day where magik power is limited to but a few and eventually to none at all. What a disastrous event that would be for our society, civilization and evolution, all of which have come to depend on magik to truly thrive. Wtihout magik, civilization would crumble to the crude, sword-wielder or despotic barbarian. If I prove these facts true, it is my intention to propose to the King, Mage Council and fellow Griffins that dragons must be restored to Xaria at all costs. Gods or no, dragons should be magikally compelled to return for no other reason than to assure the very survival of the enlightened mind.
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